THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
By Oscar Wilde Cecily Cardew- Jack’s niece and ward. Falls in love with Algernon. Dr. Chausuble- The Rector of the Manor House. Chausuble and Miss Prism flirt through out Acts II and III. Gwendolen Fairfax- Lady Bracknell’s daughter. Falls in love with Jack Lane- Algernon’s butler in the city. Merriman- The butler at the Manor house. Algernon Moncrieff- A good friend of Jack’s. Lives in a nice flat in a prestigious part of London. Lady Bracknell’s nephew and, it turns out, Jack’s younger brother. Algernon falls in love with Cecily. Miss Prism- Cecily’s tutor. Lost Jack when he was a baby, accidentally putting him in a handbag in stead of in a stroller. Jack Worthing- Central figure of the play. Loves Gwendolen and wishes to marry her. When he is in the city, he goes by Ernest; when he is in the country, he goes by Jack. He is the legal guardian of Cecily Cardew. In the end, it is revealed that Jack is Algernon’s older brother.
Lady Bracknell- Algernon’s aunt Gwendolen’s mother. A member of the English aristocracy. Forbids her daughter to marry Jack because of his obscure background.
Plot Overview:
The play begins in the apartment of Algernon Moncrieff, an upper-class English bachelor. He is visited by his friend Jack Worthing, whom everyone knows as “Ernest.” Jack announces that he has come to town to propose to Gwedolen Fairfax, Lady Bracknell’s daughter and Algernon’s first cousin. Algernon says that as Gwendolen’s first cousin, he will not allow Jack to marry Gwendolen until he explains why the name Cecily is inscribed in Jack’s cigarette case. After making up a story about and old aunt, Jack finally admits that Cecily is his ward and she lives in the country. Jack also admits that his name is Jack, not Ernest. Algernon jokingly accuses Jack of “Bunburying,” the practice of giving yourself an excuse to leave by pretending to have a friend in some other part of the world. Algernon explains that he himself has an imaginary friend called Bunbury who frequently gets sick, giving Algernon an excuse to get out of London social obligations.
Gwendolen and Lady Bracknell arrive at Algernon’s flat for tea. Algernon tells Lady Bracknell that due to the illness of a friend Bunbury, he must leave London and will not be able to attend dinner. Jack tells Gwendolen that he loves her, she replies that she loves him to particularly because his name is Ernest. Jack privately resolves to get baptized and change is name. Gwendolen accepts his marriage proposal. Lady Bracknell interrogates Jack to see if he would make a suitable husband for Gwendolen. All goes well until she discovers that he was abandoned in a handbag as a child and found by Mr. Thomas Cardew in Victoria Station. Lady Bracknell find him unsuitable because he has no knowledge of his own parentage. She suggests that he “acquire some relations.”
Gwendolen agrees to write Jack while he is in the country to figure out what they will do. He gives her the address which Algernon overhears and copies down.
Act II begins in Jack’s country estate, where is ward, Cecily, is learning German and geography from Miss Prism. Algernon, pretending to be Jack’s brother Ernest, arrives to meet Cecily. They click right away and go inside the house. Prism and Chausuble meet Jack as he arrives home. He is dressed in mourning clothes to pretend that his brother, who does not actually exist, has died. Cecily comes out of the house to tell Jack that his brother has returned. Jack is surprised and angry when hi “brother,” Algernon comes out of the house. In private, Jack tells Algernon that he must leave at once. Algernon agrees. As Jack exits, Cecily returns. Algernon proposes to her, and she says yes while noting that she particularly loves him because his name is Ernest. Algernon resolves to get rechristened.
Algernon exits. Gwendolen arrives to see Jack and chats with Cecily, whom she has never met before. Gwendolen mentions that she is engaged to Ernest, and they begin to bicker as they realize they both may be engaged to the same man. After arguing, they lapse into hostile pleasantries until Algernon and Jack re-enter. The men confess that they lied about their names. The two women are shocked. Jack panics, Algernon sits back and eats muffins.
Act III is set inside the Manor House. Both men apologize to the women and explain that they are to be christened in the afternoon. All seems well until Lady Bracknell arrives. When she learns that Cecily is extremely wealthy, she consents to let Algernon/Ernest marry her. However, as Cecily’s legal guardian, Jack will not consent to the marriage until Lady Bracknell approves of his and Gwendolen’s engagement. Lady Bracknell refuses and begins to leave with Gwendolen. Dr. Chausuble enters and learns that a christening is no longer necessary and resolves to return to Miss Prism.
Lady Bracknell, remembering that she once employed Miss Prism to take care of her sister’s baby, asks to see Miss Prism. When she appears, Lady Bracknell demands to know what happened to the baby, which disappeared twenty-eight years ago. Miss Prism confesses that she accidentally put her novel in the perambulator (stroller) and the baby in her handbag which she left at Victoria Station. Jack realizes that he was the baby, fetches the briefcase in which he was found, which Miss Prism confirms was hers. Lady Bracknell tells Jack that he is her nephew and Algernon’s older brother. Their father’s first name was Ernest, and because all first sons are named after their father, they realize that Jack’s name was Ernest all along. Jack is overjoyed. In the end, Algernon gets together with Cecily, and Jack gets together with Gwendolen. When Lady Bracknell accuses Jack of triviality, he retorts that he has only just discovered “the vital Importance of Being Earnest.”
Literary Devices/Motifs:
Irony- Both men go by the name "Ernest." The word "Earnest" is associated with sincerity and honesty which is ironic because both men lie continuously. Mood- The mood of the Importance of Being Earnest is largely satirical. This is because Wilde is seeking to mock the triviality of the upper class society of London. Wilde’s satire is characterized by wit and is, throughout, lighthearted. Symbols-
Food- The way in which characters eat or serve food symbolizes their emotional state. Algernon provides cucumber sandwiches for his aunt, but he selfishly eats them all before she arrives. (Symbolizes subtle rebellion against his aunt's authority). Cecily shows her antipathy towards Gwendolyn by giving her cake and pouring sugar into her tea against her wishes. Algernon carelessly eats muffins and relaxes which symbolizes carelessness.
Bunbury- Symbolizes freedom and irresponsibility of the bachelor's life.
Themes: Triviality of the upperclass-
This is expressed in the nature of the writing, which is satirical. By examining the languange and interaction of the characters, one can see that they are simply absurd.
Triviality of marriage-
This theme exposes the aristocracy as shallow and absurd. Wilde’s characters consistently refer to marriage in a poor light, yet, continuing with their absurdity, each seek to be married.
Victorian manners-
The way in which they interact with one another is based on a social code; this is also an example of sentimentality. For instance, Lady Bracknell is kind to Jack until she discovers his background, Gwendolen and Cecily are overly kind to one another until they find something upon which to disagree, Lady Bracknell is kind to Cecily when she discovers she has money, etc.
The Meaningless of Social Convention-
All of the characters are concerned with appearance more than they are with substance. Examples: Lady Bracknell is not concerned with whether Jack will be a loving husband, but whether he has the type of lifestyle that meets her social standards. Cecily and Gwendolen are not inlove with their men's personality, but with the sound of the name, "Ernest." The women are not offended that their men lied to them, but because their names are not truly Ernest.
The Unimportance of the Truth-
Truth and honesty are generally considered admirable qualities, but in this play truth is considered embarassingly impolite. In high society, Wilde suggests, charm and beauty are of paramount importance. The characters do not care for the pleasure of moral virtue, but for the pleasures of good taste.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Setting: Longborne 1797-1815 Characters: ElizabethBennet:Protagonist, most intelligent sister of the Bennet family. Dislikes Darcy at first, but later finds out that she was being prideful and prejudiced towards Darcy.
Fitzwilliam Darcy: Prideful and rich man from Pemberley. At first, he looks down on Elizabeth because of her low social status, but later learns he loves her despite his pride because of her intelligence Jane Bennet: Elizabeth's older sister and more beautiful sister. She is very different from Elizabeth because she sees the good in all people. Charles Bingley: Darcy's friend who falls in love with Jane. George Wickham: Greedy man who tried to marry Darcy's sister for money. Elizabeth likes him at first because of his charm and good looks, but later finds out about his greedy ambitions. Lydia Bennet: Foolish and immature youngest daughter of the Bennets who goes off and marries Wickham without thinking. Mr. Collins: The man who is to inherit the Bennet's house. He seeks to marry one of the Bennet's daughters, but Elizabeth refuses him. Miss Bingley: Tries to separate Elizabeth from Darcy, but causes Darcy to love Elizabeth more. Mr. Bennet: The father of the family, he loves his daughters especially Elizabeth, but likes to annoy his family with his sarcasm. Mrs. Bennet: The mother of the Bennet family, she only seeks to marry off her daughters to rich men. Lady Catherine de Bourgh: Prideful aunt of Darcy, she tries to keep Elizabeth from marrying Darcy because she is of low social status. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner: Uncle and aunt of the Bennet daughters, they take better care of the daughters than Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Mrs. Gardiner tells Elizabeth that Darcy paid for Wickham's debts. Charlotte Lucas: Elizabeth's best friend, she marries Mr. Collins, even though she does not love him because she just wants to be sure of her future. Georgiana Darcy: Darcy's shy younger sister, she plays well on the piano. Wickham tried to marry her for better social stature. Catherine Bennet: Another immature daughter like Lydia who chases after soldiers. Summary:
Charles Bingley rented out Netherfield Manor, which is closeby to the Bennets. Mrs. Bennet wants her daughters to marry affluent men, so she asks her husband to visit them. A few days later there is a ball, and the Bennets and Mr. Bingley with his friends attend. At the ball, Charles Bingley dances with Jane Bennet twice. However, Darcy, Mr. Bingley's friend, refuses to dance with Elizabeth Bennet because she is of lower social status. This rejection leads Elizabeth and the whole town to dislike Darcy even though he is extremely rich.
Mr. Bingley discovers that he is in love with Jane, but Jane does not show her affection for him. Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth's best friend says that he may lose interest because she is too shy, but Elizabeth says it is better to know the character of a person before marrying him. Darcy despite his initial impression of Elizabeth, discovers that he likes her and listens in to her conversations, but Elizabeth dislikes him and avoids him.
The Bennet sisters discover that their home is entailed to Mr. Collins, and Mrs. Bennet is extremely distressed by this and wants her daughters to find rich husbands. She sends Jane to Netherfield without a carriage because she knows that it will rain, and so Jane will have to stay at Netherfield overnight. However Jane gets sick and has to spend more than just the night at Netherfield. Elizabeth goes over the next day on foot to see her sister, but when she arrives her stockings and shoes are dirty, so the Bingleys gossip about her. While Elizabeth was staying in Jane's room, the Bingley sisters make fun of the Bennets, but Mr. Bingley and Darcy defend them.
Mr. Collins, the man who is to inherit the Bennet's property, arrives at the Bennets. He is a snob and thinks greatly of himself although he is not of great social status because Lady Catherine de Burgh is his patronage. They all go to the Phillips house for a party, and at the party Wickham tells Elizabeth that Darcy had taken his inheritance away from him, and Elizabeth, because of Wickham's seemingly good nature immediately believes him. She tells Jane about the story, but Jane says that there must be a misunderstanding, but Elizabeth still is prejudiced against Darcy.
There is a ball at Netherfield, but Wickham does not attend. Elizabeth is forced to dance twice with Mr. Collins, and later dances with Darcy. While dancing with Darcy, Elizabeth asks Darcy about Wickham, but Darcy avoids the topic. Miss Bingley tells Elizabeth not to trust Wickham, but once again Elizabeth is prejudiced and does not heed her warning.
The next day, Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth, but she refuses him, however Mr. Collins thinks that she will agree later. Mrs. Bennet is angered because she wanted Elizabeth to marry him, so she asks Mr. Bennet to force her to marry Mr. Collins, but he tells Elizabeth that he will never see her again if she marries Mr. Collins. A letter arrives from Ms Bingley saying that they will not return to Netherfield, and that Mr. Bingley will be marrying Darcy's sister. Mr. Collins later proposes to Elizabeth's friend Charlotte and she accepts because she wants a secure future, but Elizabeth does not approve.
The Gardiners come to the Bennets and see that Jane is sad and ask her to come back to London with them. She agrees and they go to London, while there she meets Ms Bingley, but was treated coldly by her. Mrs. Bennet tells Elizabeth that Wickham is a bad choice because he does not have money, and tells her not to fall in love with him, and Elizabeth says she will try her best. Later on, Elizabeth discovers that Wickham likes another woman who had come upon a large fortune.
In the spring, Elizabeth goes to visit Charlotte. The next day, she is invited to Rosings by Miss de Burgh for dinner, and there Miss de Burgh points out Elizabeth's poor upbringing. For example, Elizabeth could not play an instrument and did not have a governess. Darcy and his cousin visit Rosings, while Elizabeth is there, and see each other quite often. Darcy's cousin tells Elizabeth that Darcy has broken up an unwise marriage of one of his friends and Elizabeth knows he is talking about Bingley. When Elizabeth is alone at the parsonage, Darcy comes in and declares his love to her and proposes. However, Elizabeth accuses him of breaking up the marriage between Jane and Mr. Bingley and of cheating Wickham. He admits the first, but not the second. Elizabeth says marriage with him is impossible and Darcy leaves.
The next day, Darcy gives Elizabeth a letter, in which it says that he broke up the romance between Jane and Bingley because the Bennets lacked money and manners, and told her that he does not like Wickham because he tried to marry his sister in order to attain wealth. Elizabeth begins to see that she made a mistake in her judgement.
Lydia, the youngest Bennet daughter gets sent to Brighton for the summer where Wickham and some of the soldiers are staying, Elizabeth refuses to go. Elizabeth later agrees to go on a tour of Pemberley, Darcy's estate, with the Gardiners. She takes a tour of Pemberley, and hears from a maid that Darcy was the kindest person ever, and she is surprised. Elizabeth thought Darcy was not there, but he shows up on their tour and is extremely polite and the Gardiners are surprised that he is nothing like how Elizabeth described him to be. Darcy asks Elizabeth if she wants to meet his sister, and she agrees. When Elizabeth meets Georgiana, Georgiana is extremely shy. The Gardiners and Elizabeth go to dinner at Pemberley, and the Bingleys are all there also. Ms Bingley makes fun of Elizabeth after she leaves, but Darcy says that Elizabeth is the most beautiful women he has ever met.
Elizabeth gets a letter from Jane saying that Lydia has run off with Wickham, and she becomes distressed. Mr. Bennet went out to look for Lydia, but was unsuccessful so he returned, and Mr. Gardiner went out and found them. He sends a letter saying that Wickham will marry only if he is guaranteed a small income. The Bennets believe that the Gardiners have paid him a large amount and feel they owe them.
Elizabeth realizes that she now likes Darcy, and thinks that if he proposed again she would marry him, but thinks that he will not because the Bennet's reputation has been ruined by Wickham. Mrs. Gardiner sends a letter to Elizabeth saying that Darcy was the one who found Lydia and Wickham, and paid Wickham the money he wanted for the marriage. After a few days, Bingley and Darcy come to dine at the Bennets and Mrs. Bennet is kind to Bingley, but rude to Darcy because she didnt know that he paid for Lydia's marriage. They come to dine at the Bennets again, and Bingley sits next to Jane and talks to her a lot, but Darcy sits on the opposite side of Elizabeth and they do not talk.
Bingley comes to the Bennets again, and Mrs. Bennet invites him to dinner, and he agrees. After the dinner, Mrs Bennet eventually gets Jane and him alone, hoping he will propose but he does not. The next day he goes shooting with Mr. Bennet and after he stays for dinner, he is alone with Jane again and he finally proposes and Jane agrees.
After the engagement, Lady de Burgh comes to the Bennets. She speaks privately with Elizabeth about how she heard that Darcy is planning to marry her. She tells Elizabeth not to, but Elizabeth said she will do what she wants. Mr. Collins sends a letter to Mr. Bennet saying that Darcy may propose to Elizabeth, but Mr. Bennet thinks that is impossible.
Darcy and Bingley return to the Bennets and they go on a walk with Jane and Elizabeth. Elizabeth thanks Darcy for paying off Wickham, but he said he did it for her. He says that his feelings have not changed for her, and Elizabeth tells him that her feelings have changed and she would agree to marry him. The next day Darcy asks Mr. Bennet for permission to marry Elizabeth, but Mr. Bennet asks Elizabeth if she really loves him. Elizabeth says she does and tells him that Darcy paid off Wickham, and Mr. Bennet gives Darcy permission.
After the weddings, Mr. Bingley buys an estate near Pemberley, and the two sisters visit each other frequently. Lydia and Wickham never mature and they annoyed even the patient Bingleys and constantly ask Darcy for money. Lady de Burgh finally accepts the marriage between her nephew and Elizabeth, and visits them at Pemberley. Literary Devices and Motifs:
Marriage:
Pride: Darcy does not dance with Elizabeth because he does not think she is good enough for him.
Prejudice: Elizabeth is affected by the rude first impression that Darcy gives, and is prejudiced against him for most of the story.
Personal values: Elizabeth looks down on people who marry for money, but Charlotte marries someone she does not love for a secure future.
Social class: Many of the rich in this novel look down on the people of low social status, and attempt to marry to greater themselves. For example, Lady de Burgh tries to stop Elizabeth from marrying Darcy, so her own daughter could marry him.
Change: Elizabeth is at first prejudiced towards Darcy, but she later changes her mind about him and eventually falls in love with him.
Irony: Elizabeth constantly points out the faults of Darcy, Mr. Collins, and others, but she does not realize her own faults. Themes:
1. Love is greater than social status: although Darcy is repelled at first by Elizabeth's low social status, he eventually overcomes that because he loves her.
2. Reputation is important: Mr. Bennet would rather have Lydia marry an immoral man than to have his family's reputation ruined.
3. First impressions do not show true character: Wickham was initially polite, but Elizabeth later finds out he is an immoral man.
4. Satire of people obsessed with social status: Mr. Collins believes he is great because his patron is Lady de Burgh, however he does not have much himself. He makes a fool of himself by constantly bragging about his patron, but does not realize how stupid he sounds.
5. Marriage for money: Charlotte marries Mr. Collins because she wants a secure future, not out of love.
Critical Essay:
"Heroines, Heroes, and Villains in Pride and Prejudice," in Twentieth Century Interpretations ofPride and Prejudice: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by E. Rubinstein, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969, pp. 97–110.
[In the following excerpt, Wrights demonstrates how Elizabeth, while a keen observer of the relations around her, is blinded to her own true thoughts and feelings. ] [In Pride and Prejudice, to] say that Darcy is proud and Elizabeth prejudiced is to tell but half the story. Pride and prejudice are faults; but they are also the necessary defects of desirable merits: self-respect and intelligence. Moreover, the novel makes clear the fact that Darcy's pride leads to prejudiceand Elizabeth's prejudice stems from a pride in her own perceptions. So the ironic theme of the book might be said to centre on the dangers of intellectual complexity. Jane Bennet and Bingley are never exposed to these dangers; they are not sufficiently profound. But the hero and the heroine, because of their deep percipience, are, ironically, subject to failures of perception. Elizabeth has good reason to credit herself with the ability to discern people and situations extraordinarily well: she understands her family perfectly, knows William Collins from the first letter he writes, comprehends the merits and deficiencies of the Bingleys almost at once, appreciates Lady Catherine de Bourgh at first meeting. Her failures are with "intricate" people who moreover stand in a relationship of great intimacy to her: Charlotte Lucas, George Wickham, Fitzwilliam Darcy. And the book is given an added dimension because it shows that intimacy blurs perceptions: intelligence fails if there is insufficient distance between mind and object.
Charlotte Lucas is "a sensible, intelligent young woman, about twenty-seven ... Elizabeth's intimate friend." But we very soon know that in an important respect she differs from Elizabeth—though Elizabeth herself does not know this fact. When, very early in the first volume, they discuss the possibility of an attachment between Jane and Bingley, Charlotte says Jane should make some efforts in this direction; but Elizabeth reminds her friend that Miss Bennet hardly knows him. This, however, does not deter Charlotte:
"I wish Jane success with all my heart; and if she were married to him tomorrow, I should think she had as good a chance of happiness, as if she were to be studying his character for a twelvemonth. Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other, or ever so similar before-hand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They aways continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life."
But Elizabeth does not believe this statement:
"You make me laugh, Charlotte; but it is not sound. You know it is not sound, and that you would never act in this way yourself."
Why does she refuse to believe Charlotte (who will soon demonstrate quite shockingly that she means every word she says on the subject of marriage)? It is because a natural kindness and affection have blinded Elizabeth to the demerits of her friend; it is because, in the nature of things, involvement (which is so necessary and desirable, in Austenian terms) carries with it the inevitable consequence of obscuring the marvellous clarity and depth of understanding so necessary to success in personal association....
Elizabeth does not give Darcy a chance—or rather she does not give herself a chance to know how she really feels about him. The famous first encounter is comically disastrous; it occurs at the assembly where Darcy says to Bingley of Elizabeth, who is sitting down: "`She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.'" And as a natural result, "Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him."
But at Netherfield, where she has gone to nurse the ailing Jane, Elizabeth makes her extraordinary and attractive personality felt—so strongly that Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley take an immediate dislike to her; so strongly that she finds Darcy staring at her.
She hardly knew how to suppose that she could be an object of admiration to so great a man; and yet that he should look at her because he disliked her, was still more strange. She could only imagine however at last, that she drew his notice because there was a something about her more wrong and reprehensible, according to his ideas of right, than in any other person present. The supposition did not pain her. She liked him too little to care for his approbation.
However, when she refuses to dance with him and says, "`despise me if you dare,'" he replies in unmistakable accents, "`Indeed I do not dare.'"
With the insult of the Ball fresh in her mind, she does not like him; she is even willing to overweigh the negative evidence, which now presents itself first from Darcy himself, then from the plausible and attractive Wickham. In the conversation at Netherfield, during which Elizabeth makes her well-known remark, that "`I hope I never ridicule what is wise and good,'" she finds from Darcy that "`My good opinion once lost is lost for ever'"—a chilling comment which she acknowledges to be a defect, but not a laughable one.
Then she meets Wickham, and finding him charming, very easily believes his allegations that Darcy has behaved abominably, that the latter has cast the young lieutenant from a promised living in the church, that in fact both Darcy and his sister suffer from very excessive pride. Elizabeth is vexed and even angry when Wickham fails to appear at the Netherfield Ball, again not trying to suppose that there may be something to be said on Darcy's side. Even so, there are signs that she willy-nilly succumbs to his charms—in the pertness of her conversation while they are dancing:
"It is your turn to say something now, Mr. Darcy—I talked about the dance, and you ought to make some kind of remark on the size of the room, or the number of couples."
He smiled, and assured her that whatever she wished him to say should be said.
"Very well.—That reply will do for the present.—Perhaps by and bye I may observe that private balls are much pleasanter than public ones.—But nowwe may be silent."
"Do you talk by rule then, while you are dancing?"
"Sometimes. One must speak a little, you know. It would look odd to be entirely silent for half an hour together, and yet for the advantage of some, conversation ought to be so arranged as that they may have the trouble of saying as little as possible."
"Are you consulting your own feelings in the present case, or do you imagine that you are gratifying mine?"
"Both," replied Elizabeth archly; "for I have always seen a great similarity in the turn of our minds.—We are each of an unsocial, taciturn disposition, unwilling to speak, unless we expect to say something that will amaze the whole room, and be handled down to posterity with all the éclat of a proverb."
However, when she questions him about Wickham, he keeps silent—nor can she understand him, as she readily admits before their dance is finished. It is an artful irony of Jane Austen's that Miss Bingley immediately thereafter tells her that Wickham is entirely in the wrong, and Darcy in the right, in the breach between the two men. Elizabeth disbelieves her for two reasons: first, because she has correctly sized Miss Bingley up as an entirely unreliable source of information; and second, perhaps, because she wants to dislike Darcy in order to avoid any entanglement which will cost her her freedom. Nevertheless, she feels mortified when she realizes that Darcy is overhearing Mrs. Bennet boast that Jane and Bingley will soon be engaged.
In the second volume, the relationship of Darcy and Elizabeth is resumed in Kent, at Rosings and at Hunsford, the parsonage to which William Collins has taken his new wife. Everything is unpropitious, so far as Elizabeth herself is concerned: she has agreed to visit Charlotte only because of the memory of their close friendship—"all the comfort of intimacy was over." Mr. Collins is just as senseless as ever; Miss de Bourgh is "`sickly and cross.—Yes, she will do for him [Darcy] very well. She will make him a very proper wife'"; and Lady Catherine is quite as insufferable as Wickham has promised. Among all these displeasing people comes Darcy, who adds to her annoyance by looking confused when she asks whether he has seen Jane in London (for she suspects that he has warned Bingley off her); and, despite his calls at the parsonage and their "chance" encounters in Rosings Park, her prejudice against him increases, for she finds apparent corroboration of her suspicions in the conversation with Colonel Fitzwilliam, during which he recounts the fact that Darcy has told him of saving an intimate friend recently from a very imprudent marriage.
And so she is bowled over when Darcy tells her he loves her:
"In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."
But she is more than astonished: she is gradually angered by the tone and implication of his remarks:
His sense of her inferiority—of its being a degradation—of the family obstacles which judgment had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit.
So—and not, without recrimination for "`ruining, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a most beloved sister'" and for his ill-treatment of Wickham—she refuses and dismisses the proud Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.
But this is not the end; indeed it is only the beginning of Elizabeth's very gradually successful efforts to know herself thoroughly. The next day she is handed Darcy's justly famous letter, written in proud tones and offering some new light not only on the Jane-Bingley business but upon the supposed unfairness to Wickham's claims. As to the first, Darcy says he thought Jane seemed not much attracted to Bingley, whereas Bingley was strongly attached to Jane; and furthermore, Darcy acknowledges an objection to Miss Bennet's family—two considerations which led him both to conceal from Bingley the fact of Jane's presence in London and to persuade his friend that she did not feel much affection for him. As for Wickham, the young Meryton militiaman resigned all claim to a living, in return for which Darcy gave him £3000 to study law. Three years later, the incumbent of the living, the claim to which Wickham had resigned, died; and Wickham, having lived a dissipated and extravagant life in London, sought it. Darcy refused, and Wickham abused him violently; but, more than that, sought Georgiana Darcy out, and persuaded her to elope with him—though the plot was prevented.
Elizabeth reads the letter with great astonishment and—at first—with little comprehension. She is, however, even more completely stunned by the account of Wickham, and her first impression is to disbelieve Darcy on that score too. But then, in reflecting on Wickham's behaviour at Meryton (especially with regard to his sudden betrothal to the rich Miss King), she is inclined to think it very probable that Darcy is telling the truth after all.
She grew absolutely ashamed of herself.—Of neither Darcy nor Wickham could she think, without feeling that she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd.
"How despicably have I acted!" she cried.—"I, who have prided myself on my discernment!—I, who have valued myself on my abilities! who have often disdained the generous candour of my sister, and gratified my vanity, in useless or blameable distrust.—How humiliating is this discovery!—Yet, how just a humiliation!—Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind."
In this dramatic moment of self-revelation she has the honesty to see that there may be some justice in what Darcy has said about Jane, for "she felt that Jane's feelings, though fervent, were little display, and that there was a constant complacency in her air and manner, not often united with great sensibility." She has learned much from the letter, very much indeed; but Jane Austen is too perceptive a reader of character to suppose that all comes clear at once: it is by a marvellous irony that Elizabeth is made to reflect, "`Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind'"; nor, though Elizabeth does know herself henceforth much better, does she yet know herself completely.
It is even true that her attitude toward the letter is to undergo a further change—when she has had a better chance to think of it with some coolness. She almost completely reverses her first excited opinion:
His attachment excited gratitude, his general character respect; but she could not approve him; nor could she for a moment repent her refusal, or feel the slightest inclination ever to see him again. In her own past behaviour, there was a constant source of vexation and regret; and in the unhappy defects of her family a subject of yet heavier chagrin.
So, in a half-way stage in her thinking and feeling, she yet refuses to look squarely at the consequences of a commitment to Darcy; she still rebels against involvement. Nevertheless, her uncompromising honesty causes her to realize that there is much justice in his views about her family—all of them but Jane.
Elizabeth does not see Darcy again until the unexpected encounter at Pemberley, to which she has gone with the Gardiners on vacation. Presumably she has had an opportunity to absorb the lesson of the letter; at least she is now more willing to believe good things about him—from Mrs. Reynolds, for instance, who is the housekeeper of Pemberley and has only warm praise for her master, whom she has known since he was four years old—"`and he was always the sweetest-tempered, most generous-hearted, boy in the world.'"
Already softened towards Darcy by such unstinted praise, she meets him by chance (he has returned home a day early) and finds him more civil to her than ever before, unfailingly kind to the Gardiners, and urgently desirous to "`introduce my sister to your acquaintance.'" She likes Georgiana, and after the meeting takes occasion to reflect on her own not very clear feelings:
She certainly did not hate him. No; hatred had vanished long ago, and she had almost as long been ashamed of ever feeling a dislike against him that could be so called. The respect created by the conviction of his valuable qualities, though at first unwillingly admitted, had for some time ceased to be repugnant to her feelings; and it was now heightened into somewhat of a friendlier nature, by the testimony so highly in his favour, and bringing forward his disposition in so amiable a light, which yesterday had produced. But above all, above respect and esteem, there was a motive within her of good will which could not be overlooked. It was gratitude.—Gratitude, not merely for having once loved her, but for loving her still well enough, to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her manner in rejecting him, and all the unjust accusations accompanying her rejection.... She respected, she esteemed, she was grateful to him, she felt a real interest in his welfare; and she only wanted to know how far she wished that welfare to depend upon herself, and how far it would be for the happiness of both that she should employ the power, which her fancy told her she still possessed, of bringing on the renewal of his addresses.
It is in the anti-climax of the first paragraph quoted (respect, esteem—gratitude) that Jane Austen is able to indicate something of the complexity of Elizabeth's mind, and the entire passage shows the continued resistance which she is still putting up against the release of her own strong feelings.
A crisis is called for, something which will break the placidity of her reflections; and this comes in the stunning news that Lydia Bennet and George Wickham have eloped; in her anguish Elizabeth blurts the story out to Darcy, who is most consolatory and kind. Nevertheless, when she leaves Derbyshire—as now she must, hurriedly—she is certain she will never see him again. She feels genuine regret on departure: and her feelings have ascended to another level.
Now the focus of attention shifts from Darcy and Elizabeth to Lydia and the conscienceless militia officer—the search for them in London, the self-recriminations of Mr. Bennet, the marriage agreed upon. Elizabeth has little leisure to reflect on her own feelings for several weeks. Then she begins to regret telling Darcy about the elopement, for now that Lydia and Wickham are to be married, she feels that the first tawdry adventure might have been concealed from him, who would so strenuously disapprove—though no doubt he would not under any circumstances ally himself to a family connected in any way with the despicable Wickham.
She began now to comprehend that he [Darcy] was exactly the man, who, in disposition and talents, would most suit her. His understanding and temper, though unlike her own, would have answered all her wishes....
But now, she thinks, it is too late: such an alliance can never be—until she discovers that it has been Darcy who has been mainly instrumental in arranging the marriage between Lydia and Wickham, through motives which she must interpret in but one way: "Her heart did whisper, that he had done it for her." But she still cannot quite believe that he would ever consent to be the brother-in-law of Wickham, even for her. Nevertheless, she refuses—with keen disdain—to promise Lady Catherine de Bourgh not to accept a proposal of marriage from Darcy: an interview which, as Darcy says, "`taught me to hope ... as I had scarcely ever allowed myself to hope before.'" And so they are betrothed, at last.
But why has it been so much easier for her to like George Wickham? It is certainly true that, on their first meeting, he is much more polite than Darcy; his façade is much smoother, and his wit just as sharp. Elizabeth herself says, "`I have courted prepossession and ignorance....'" But there is a further reason, that she feels no danger of a permanent attachment to him; and for this second reason, she yields all too willingly to the belief that Darcy is what Wickham says he is.
She deceives herself: Mrs. Gardiner, who is much more perceptive in this matter than her niece, warns Elizabeth not to fall in love with the lieutenant. But Elizabeth promises only to go slowly. Nevertheless (and this, it seems to me, proves my second point) she feels not a single pang of regret when Wickham announces his engagement to Miss King, the girl with a dowry of £10,000. As she writes to her aunt,
"I am now convinced ... that I have never been much in love; for had I really experienced that pure and elevating passion, I should at present detest his very name, and wish him all manner of evil. But my feelings are not only cordial towards him; they are even impartial towards Miss King.... There can be no love in all this."
And she is right: so she can afford herself the luxury of deciding, before leaving for Kent, that Wickham "must always be her model of the amiable and pleasing"; she can (or so she thinks) indulge herself in the imperception of denying to Mrs. Gardiner that Wickham's attachment discloses his mercenary motives.
The profundity of her mortification at knowing the truth about him comes, then, not merely from the knowledge that her perceptions, on which she has prided herself, have been beclouded by prejudice, but from the deeper reason that her relationship to him, because it has not engaged her much, has been able to afford the luxury of quasi-intimacy. Against clarity, in Pride and Prejudice, involvement is set: both are desirable, but each, ironically, works against the other—and the reader cannot believe that the marriage of Darcy and Elizabeth, however happy or beneficial, will ever quite close the breach between these two opposites.
By Oscar Wilde
Cecily Cardew- Jack’s niece and ward. Falls in love with Algernon.
Dr. Chausuble- The Rector of the Manor House. Chausuble and Miss Prism flirt through out Acts II and III.
Gwendolen Fairfax- Lady Bracknell’s daughter. Falls in love with Jack
Lane- Algernon’s butler in the city.
Merriman- The butler at the Manor house.
Algernon Moncrieff- A good friend of Jack’s. Lives in a nice flat in a prestigious part of London. Lady Bracknell’s nephew and, it turns out, Jack’s younger brother. Algernon falls in love with Cecily.
Miss Prism- Cecily’s tutor. Lost Jack when he was a baby, accidentally putting him in a handbag in stead of in a stroller.
Jack Worthing- Central figure of the play. Loves Gwendolen and wishes to marry her. When he is in the city, he goes by Ernest; when he is in the country, he goes by Jack. He is the legal guardian of Cecily Cardew. In the end, it is revealed that Jack is Algernon’s older brother.
Lady Bracknell- Algernon’s aunt Gwendolen’s mother. A member of the English aristocracy. Forbids her daughter to marry Jack because of his obscure background.
Plot Overview:
The play begins in the apartment of Algernon Moncrieff, an upper-class English bachelor. He is visited by his friend Jack Worthing, whom everyone knows as “Ernest.” Jack announces that he has come to town to propose to Gwedolen Fairfax, Lady Bracknell’s daughter and Algernon’s first cousin. Algernon says that as Gwendolen’s first cousin, he will not allow Jack to marry Gwendolen until he explains why the name Cecily is inscribed in Jack’s cigarette case. After making up a story about and old aunt, Jack finally admits that Cecily is his ward and she lives in the country. Jack also admits that his name is Jack, not Ernest. Algernon jokingly accuses Jack of “Bunburying,” the practice of giving yourself an excuse to leave by pretending to have a friend in some other part of the world. Algernon explains that he himself has an imaginary friend called Bunbury who frequently gets sick, giving Algernon an excuse to get out of London social obligations.
Gwendolen and Lady Bracknell arrive at Algernon’s flat for tea. Algernon tells Lady Bracknell that due to the illness of a friend Bunbury, he must leave London and will not be able to attend dinner. Jack tells Gwendolen that he loves her, she replies that she loves him to particularly because his name is Ernest. Jack privately resolves to get baptized and change is name. Gwendolen accepts his marriage proposal. Lady Bracknell interrogates Jack to see if he would make a suitable husband for Gwendolen. All goes well until she discovers that he was abandoned in a handbag as a child and found by Mr. Thomas Cardew in Victoria Station. Lady Bracknell find him unsuitable because he has no knowledge of his own parentage. She suggests that he “acquire some relations.”
Gwendolen agrees to write Jack while he is in the country to figure out what they will do. He gives her the address which Algernon overhears and copies down.
Act II begins in Jack’s country estate, where is ward, Cecily, is learning German and geography from Miss Prism. Algernon, pretending to be Jack’s brother Ernest, arrives to meet Cecily. They click right away and go inside the house. Prism and Chausuble meet Jack as he arrives home. He is dressed in mourning clothes to pretend that his brother, who does not actually exist, has died. Cecily comes out of the house to tell Jack that his brother has returned. Jack is surprised and angry when hi “brother,” Algernon comes out of the house. In private, Jack tells Algernon that he must leave at once. Algernon agrees. As Jack exits, Cecily returns. Algernon proposes to her, and she says yes while noting that she particularly loves him because his name is Ernest. Algernon resolves to get rechristened.
Algernon exits. Gwendolen arrives to see Jack and chats with Cecily, whom she has never met before. Gwendolen mentions that she is engaged to Ernest, and they begin to bicker as they realize they both may be engaged to the same man. After arguing, they lapse into hostile pleasantries until Algernon and Jack re-enter. The men confess that they lied about their names. The two women are shocked. Jack panics, Algernon sits back and eats muffins.
Act III is set inside the Manor House. Both men apologize to the women and explain that they are to be christened in the afternoon. All seems well until Lady Bracknell arrives. When she learns that Cecily is extremely wealthy, she consents to let Algernon/Ernest marry her. However, as Cecily’s legal guardian, Jack will not consent to the marriage until Lady Bracknell approves of his and Gwendolen’s engagement. Lady Bracknell refuses and begins to leave with Gwendolen. Dr. Chausuble enters and learns that a christening is no longer necessary and resolves to return to Miss Prism.
Lady Bracknell, remembering that she once employed Miss Prism to take care of her sister’s baby, asks to see Miss Prism. When she appears, Lady Bracknell demands to know what happened to the baby, which disappeared twenty-eight years ago. Miss Prism confesses that she accidentally put her novel in the perambulator (stroller) and the baby in her handbag which she left at Victoria Station. Jack realizes that he was the baby, fetches the briefcase in which he was found, which Miss Prism confirms was hers. Lady Bracknell tells Jack that he is her nephew and Algernon’s older brother. Their father’s first name was Ernest, and because all first sons are named after their father, they realize that Jack’s name was Ernest all along. Jack is overjoyed. In the end, Algernon gets together with Cecily, and Jack gets together with Gwendolen. When Lady Bracknell accuses Jack of triviality, he retorts that he has only just discovered “the vital Importance of Being Earnest.”
Literary Devices/Motifs:
Irony- Both men go by the name "Ernest." The word "Earnest" is associated with sincerity and honesty which is ironic because both men lie continuously.
Mood- The mood of the Importance of Being Earnest is largely satirical. This is because Wilde is seeking to mock the triviality of the upper class society of London. Wilde’s satire is characterized by wit and is, throughout, lighthearted.
Symbols-
Food- The way in which characters eat or serve food symbolizes their emotional state. Algernon provides cucumber sandwiches for his aunt, but he selfishly eats them all before she arrives. (Symbolizes subtle rebellion against his aunt's authority). Cecily shows her antipathy towards Gwendolyn by giving her cake and pouring sugar into her tea against her wishes. Algernon carelessly eats muffins and relaxes which symbolizes carelessness.
Bunbury- Symbolizes freedom and irresponsibility of the bachelor's life.
Themes:
Triviality of the upperclass-
This is expressed in the nature of the writing, which is satirical. By examining the languange and interaction of the characters, one can see that they are simply absurd.
Triviality of marriage-
This theme exposes the aristocracy as shallow and absurd. Wilde’s characters consistently refer to marriage in a poor light, yet, continuing with their absurdity, each seek to be married.
Victorian manners-
The way in which they interact with one another is based on a social code; this is also an example of sentimentality. For instance, Lady Bracknell is kind to Jack until she discovers his background, Gwendolen and Cecily are overly kind to one another until they find something upon which to disagree, Lady Bracknell is kind to Cecily when she discovers she has money, etc.
The Meaningless of Social Convention-
All of the characters are concerned with appearance more than they are with substance. Examples: Lady Bracknell is not concerned with whether Jack will be a loving husband, but whether he has the type of lifestyle that meets her social standards. Cecily and Gwendolen are not inlove with their men's personality, but with the sound of the name, "Ernest." The women are not offended that their men lied to them, but because their names are not truly Ernest.
The Unimportance of the Truth-
Truth and honesty are generally considered admirable qualities, but in this play truth is considered embarassingly impolite. In high society, Wilde suggests, charm and beauty are of paramount importance. The characters do not care for the pleasure of moral virtue, but for the pleasures of good taste.
Critical Essay
http://www.answers.com/topic/the-importance-of-being-earnest-play-7
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Setting: Longborne 1797-1815
Characters:
Elizabeth Bennet: Protagonist, most intelligent sister of the Bennet family. Dislikes Darcy at first, but later finds out that she was being prideful and prejudiced towards Darcy.
Fitzwilliam Darcy: Prideful and rich man from Pemberley. At first, he looks down on Elizabeth because of her low social status, but later learns he loves her despite his pride because of her intelligence
Jane Bennet: Elizabeth's older sister and more beautiful sister. She is very different from Elizabeth because she sees the good in all people.
Charles Bingley: Darcy's friend who falls in love with Jane.
George Wickham: Greedy man who tried to marry Darcy's sister for money. Elizabeth likes him at first because of his charm and good looks, but later finds out about his greedy ambitions.
Lydia Bennet: Foolish and immature youngest daughter of the Bennets who goes off and marries Wickham without thinking.
Mr. Collins: The man who is to inherit the Bennet's house. He seeks to marry one of the Bennet's daughters, but Elizabeth refuses him.
Miss Bingley: Tries to separate Elizabeth from Darcy, but causes Darcy to love Elizabeth more.
Mr. Bennet: The father of the family, he loves his daughters especially Elizabeth, but likes to annoy his family with his sarcasm.
Mrs. Bennet: The mother of the Bennet family, she only seeks to marry off her daughters to rich men.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh: Prideful aunt of Darcy, she tries to keep Elizabeth from marrying Darcy because she is of low social status.
Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner: Uncle and aunt of the Bennet daughters, they take better care of the daughters than Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Mrs. Gardiner tells Elizabeth that Darcy paid for Wickham's debts.
Charlotte Lucas: Elizabeth's best friend, she marries Mr. Collins, even though she does not love him because she just wants to be sure of her future.
Georgiana Darcy: Darcy's shy younger sister, she plays well on the piano. Wickham tried to marry her for better social stature.
Catherine Bennet: Another immature daughter like Lydia who chases after soldiers.
Summary:
Charles Bingley rented out Netherfield Manor, which is closeby to the Bennets. Mrs. Bennet wants her daughters to marry affluent men, so she asks her husband to visit them. A few days later there is a ball, and the Bennets and Mr. Bingley with his friends attend. At the ball, Charles Bingley dances with Jane Bennet twice. However, Darcy, Mr. Bingley's friend, refuses to dance with Elizabeth Bennet because she is of lower social status. This rejection leads Elizabeth and the whole town to dislike Darcy even though he is extremely rich.
Mr. Bingley discovers that he is in love with Jane, but Jane does not show her affection for him. Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth's best friend says that he may lose interest because she is too shy, but Elizabeth says it is better to know the character of a person before marrying him. Darcy despite his initial impression of Elizabeth, discovers that he likes her and listens in to her conversations, but Elizabeth dislikes him and avoids him.
The Bennet sisters discover that their home is entailed to Mr. Collins, and Mrs. Bennet is extremely distressed by this and wants her daughters to find rich husbands. She sends Jane to Netherfield without a carriage because she knows that it will rain, and so Jane will have to stay at Netherfield overnight. However Jane gets sick and has to spend more than just the night at Netherfield. Elizabeth goes over the next day on foot to see her sister, but when she arrives her stockings and shoes are dirty, so the Bingleys gossip about her. While Elizabeth was staying in Jane's room, the Bingley sisters make fun of the Bennets, but Mr. Bingley and Darcy defend them.
Mr. Collins, the man who is to inherit the Bennet's property, arrives at the Bennets. He is a snob and thinks greatly of himself although he is not of great social status because Lady Catherine de Burgh is his patronage. They all go to the Phillips house for a party, and at the party Wickham tells Elizabeth that Darcy had taken his inheritance away from him, and Elizabeth, because of Wickham's seemingly good nature immediately believes him. She tells Jane about the story, but Jane says that there must be a misunderstanding, but Elizabeth still is prejudiced against Darcy.
There is a ball at Netherfield, but Wickham does not attend. Elizabeth is forced to dance twice with Mr. Collins, and later dances with Darcy. While dancing with Darcy, Elizabeth asks Darcy about Wickham, but Darcy avoids the topic. Miss Bingley tells Elizabeth not to trust Wickham, but once again Elizabeth is prejudiced and does not heed her warning.
The next day, Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth, but she refuses him, however Mr. Collins thinks that she will agree later. Mrs. Bennet is angered because she wanted Elizabeth to marry him, so she asks Mr. Bennet to force her to marry Mr. Collins, but he tells Elizabeth that he will never see her again if she marries Mr. Collins. A letter arrives from Ms Bingley saying that they will not return to Netherfield, and that Mr. Bingley will be marrying Darcy's sister. Mr. Collins later proposes to Elizabeth's friend Charlotte and she accepts because she wants a secure future, but Elizabeth does not approve.
The Gardiners come to the Bennets and see that Jane is sad and ask her to come back to London with them. She agrees and they go to London, while there she meets Ms Bingley, but was treated coldly by her. Mrs. Bennet tells Elizabeth that Wickham is a bad choice because he does not have money, and tells her not to fall in love with him, and Elizabeth says she will try her best. Later on, Elizabeth discovers that Wickham likes another woman who had come upon a large fortune.
In the spring, Elizabeth goes to visit Charlotte. The next day, she is invited to Rosings by Miss de Burgh for dinner, and there Miss de Burgh points out Elizabeth's poor upbringing. For example, Elizabeth could not play an instrument and did not have a governess. Darcy and his cousin visit Rosings, while Elizabeth is there, and see each other quite often. Darcy's cousin tells Elizabeth that Darcy has broken up an unwise marriage of one of his friends and Elizabeth knows he is talking about Bingley. When Elizabeth is alone at the parsonage, Darcy comes in and declares his love to her and proposes. However, Elizabeth accuses him of breaking up the marriage between Jane and Mr. Bingley and of cheating Wickham. He admits the first, but not the second. Elizabeth says marriage with him is impossible and Darcy leaves.
The next day, Darcy gives Elizabeth a letter, in which it says that he broke up the romance between Jane and Bingley because the Bennets lacked money and manners, and told her that he does not like Wickham because he tried to marry his sister in order to attain wealth. Elizabeth begins to see that she made a mistake in her judgement.
Lydia, the youngest Bennet daughter gets sent to Brighton for the summer where Wickham and some of the soldiers are staying, Elizabeth refuses to go. Elizabeth later agrees to go on a tour of Pemberley, Darcy's estate, with the Gardiners. She takes a tour of Pemberley, and hears from a maid that Darcy was the kindest person ever, and she is surprised. Elizabeth thought Darcy was not there, but he shows up on their tour and is extremely polite and the Gardiners are surprised that he is nothing like how Elizabeth described him to be. Darcy asks Elizabeth if she wants to meet his sister, and she agrees. When Elizabeth meets Georgiana, Georgiana is extremely shy. The Gardiners and Elizabeth go to dinner at Pemberley, and the Bingleys are all there also. Ms Bingley makes fun of Elizabeth after she leaves, but Darcy says that Elizabeth is the most beautiful women he has ever met.
Elizabeth gets a letter from Jane saying that Lydia has run off with Wickham, and she becomes distressed. Mr. Bennet went out to look for Lydia, but was unsuccessful so he returned, and Mr. Gardiner went out and found them. He sends a letter saying that Wickham will marry only if he is guaranteed a small income. The Bennets believe that the Gardiners have paid him a large amount and feel they owe them.
Elizabeth realizes that she now likes Darcy, and thinks that if he proposed again she would marry him, but thinks that he will not because the Bennet's reputation has been ruined by Wickham. Mrs. Gardiner sends a letter to Elizabeth saying that Darcy was the one who found Lydia and Wickham, and paid Wickham the money he wanted for the marriage. After a few days, Bingley and Darcy come to dine at the Bennets and Mrs. Bennet is kind to Bingley, but rude to Darcy because she didnt know that he paid for Lydia's marriage. They come to dine at the Bennets again, and Bingley sits next to Jane and talks to her a lot, but Darcy sits on the opposite side of Elizabeth and they do not talk.
Bingley comes to the Bennets again, and Mrs. Bennet invites him to dinner, and he agrees. After the dinner, Mrs Bennet eventually gets Jane and him alone, hoping he will propose but he does not. The next day he goes shooting with Mr. Bennet and after he stays for dinner, he is alone with Jane again and he finally proposes and Jane agrees.
After the engagement, Lady de Burgh comes to the Bennets. She speaks privately with Elizabeth about how she heard that Darcy is planning to marry her. She tells Elizabeth not to, but Elizabeth said she will do what she wants. Mr. Collins sends a letter to Mr. Bennet saying that Darcy may propose to Elizabeth, but Mr. Bennet thinks that is impossible.
Darcy and Bingley return to the Bennets and they go on a walk with Jane and Elizabeth. Elizabeth thanks Darcy for paying off Wickham, but he said he did it for her. He says that his feelings have not changed for her, and Elizabeth tells him that her feelings have changed and she would agree to marry him. The next day Darcy asks Mr. Bennet for permission to marry Elizabeth, but Mr. Bennet asks Elizabeth if she really loves him. Elizabeth says she does and tells him that Darcy paid off Wickham, and Mr. Bennet gives Darcy permission.
After the weddings, Mr. Bingley buys an estate near Pemberley, and the two sisters visit each other frequently. Lydia and Wickham never mature and they annoyed even the patient Bingleys and constantly ask Darcy for money. Lady de Burgh finally accepts the marriage between her nephew and Elizabeth, and visits them at Pemberley.
Literary Devices and Motifs:
Marriage:
Pride: Darcy does not dance with Elizabeth because he does not think she is good enough for him.
Prejudice: Elizabeth is affected by the rude first impression that Darcy gives, and is prejudiced against him for most of the story.
Personal values: Elizabeth looks down on people who marry for money, but Charlotte marries someone she does not love for a secure future.
Social class: Many of the rich in this novel look down on the people of low social status, and attempt to marry to greater themselves. For example, Lady de Burgh tries to stop Elizabeth from marrying Darcy, so her own daughter could marry him.
Change: Elizabeth is at first prejudiced towards Darcy, but she later changes her mind about him and eventually falls in love with him.
Irony: Elizabeth constantly points out the faults of Darcy, Mr. Collins, and others, but she does not realize her own faults.
Themes:
1. Love is greater than social status: although Darcy is repelled at first by Elizabeth's low social status, he eventually overcomes that because he loves her.
2. Reputation is important: Mr. Bennet would rather have Lydia marry an immoral man than to have his family's reputation ruined.
3. First impressions do not show true character: Wickham was initially polite, but Elizabeth later finds out he is an immoral man.
4. Satire of people obsessed with social status: Mr. Collins believes he is great because his patron is Lady de Burgh, however he does not have much himself. He makes a fool of himself by constantly bragging about his patron, but does not realize how stupid he sounds.
5. Marriage for money: Charlotte marries Mr. Collins because she wants a secure future, not out of love.
Critical Essay:
"Heroines, Heroes, and Villains in Pride and Prejudice," in Twentieth Century Interpretations of Pride and Prejudice: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by E. Rubinstein, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969, pp. 97–110.
[In the following excerpt, Wrights demonstrates how Elizabeth, while a keen observer of the relations around her, is blinded to her own true thoughts and feelings. ]
[In Pride and Prejudice, to] say that Darcy is proud and Elizabeth prejudiced is to tell but half the story. Pride and prejudice are faults; but they are also the necessary defects of desirable merits: self-respect and intelligence. Moreover, the novel makes clear the fact that Darcy's pride leads to prejudiceand Elizabeth's prejudice stems from a pride in her own perceptions. So the ironic theme of the book might be said to centre on the dangers of intellectual complexity. Jane Bennet and Bingley are never exposed to these dangers; they are not sufficiently profound. But the hero and the heroine, because of their deep percipience, are, ironically, subject to failures of perception. Elizabeth has good reason to credit herself with the ability to discern people and situations extraordinarily well: she understands her family perfectly, knows William Collins from the first letter he writes, comprehends the merits and deficiencies of the Bingleys almost at once, appreciates Lady Catherine de Bourgh at first meeting. Her failures are with "intricate" people who moreover stand in a relationship of great intimacy to her: Charlotte Lucas, George Wickham, Fitzwilliam Darcy. And the book is given an added dimension because it shows that intimacy blurs perceptions: intelligence fails if there is insufficient distance between mind and object.
Charlotte Lucas is "a sensible, intelligent young woman, about twenty-seven ... Elizabeth's intimate friend." But we very soon know that in an important respect she differs from Elizabeth—though Elizabeth herself does not know this fact. When, very early in the first volume, they discuss the possibility of an attachment between Jane and Bingley, Charlotte says Jane should make some efforts in this direction; but Elizabeth reminds her friend that Miss Bennet hardly knows him. This, however, does not deter Charlotte:
"I wish Jane success with all my heart; and if she were married to him tomorrow, I should think she had as good a chance of happiness, as if she were to be studying his character for a twelvemonth. Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other, or ever so similar before-hand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They aways continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life."
But Elizabeth does not believe this statement:
"You make me laugh, Charlotte; but it is not sound. You know it is not sound, and that you would never act in this way yourself."
Why does she refuse to believe Charlotte (who will soon demonstrate quite shockingly that she means every word she says on the subject of marriage)? It is because a natural kindness and affection have blinded Elizabeth to the demerits of her friend; it is because, in the nature of things, involvement (which is so necessary and desirable, in Austenian terms) carries with it the inevitable consequence of obscuring the marvellous clarity and depth of understanding so necessary to success in personal association....
Elizabeth does not give Darcy a chance—or rather she does not give herself a chance to know how she really feels about him. The famous first encounter is comically disastrous; it occurs at the assembly where Darcy says to Bingley of Elizabeth, who is sitting down: "`She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.'" And as a natural result, "Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him."
But at Netherfield, where she has gone to nurse the ailing Jane, Elizabeth makes her extraordinary and attractive personality felt—so strongly that Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley take an immediate dislike to her; so strongly that she finds Darcy staring at her.
She hardly knew how to suppose that she could be an object of admiration to so great a man; and yet that he should look at her because he disliked her, was still more strange. She could only imagine however at last, that she drew his notice because there was a something about her more wrong and reprehensible, according to his ideas of right, than in any other person present. The supposition did not pain her. She liked him too little to care for his approbation.
However, when she refuses to dance with him and says, "`despise me if you dare,'" he replies in unmistakable accents, "`Indeed I do not dare.'"
With the insult of the Ball fresh in her mind, she does not like him; she is even willing to overweigh the negative evidence, which now presents itself first from Darcy himself, then from the plausible and attractive Wickham. In the conversation at Netherfield, during which Elizabeth makes her well-known remark, that "`I hope I never ridicule what is wise and good,'" she finds from Darcy that "`My good opinion once lost is lost for ever'"—a chilling comment which she acknowledges to be a defect, but not a laughable one.
Then she meets Wickham, and finding him charming, very easily believes his allegations that Darcy has behaved abominably, that the latter has cast the young lieutenant from a promised living in the church, that in fact both Darcy and his sister suffer from very excessive pride. Elizabeth is vexed and even angry when Wickham fails to appear at the Netherfield Ball, again not trying to suppose that there may be something to be said on Darcy's side. Even so, there are signs that she willy-nilly succumbs to his charms—in the pertness of her conversation while they are dancing:
"It is your turn to say something now, Mr. Darcy—I talked about the dance, and you ought to make some kind of remark on the size of the room, or the number of couples."
He smiled, and assured her that whatever she wished him to say should be said.
"Very well.—That reply will do for the present.—Perhaps by and bye I may observe that private balls are much pleasanter than public ones.—But nowwe may be silent."
"Do you talk by rule then, while you are dancing?"
"Sometimes. One must speak a little, you know. It would look odd to be entirely silent for half an hour together, and yet for the advantage of some, conversation ought to be so arranged as that they may have the trouble of saying as little as possible."
"Are you consulting your own feelings in the present case, or do you imagine that you are gratifying mine?"
"Both," replied Elizabeth archly; "for I have always seen a great similarity in the turn of our minds.—We are each of an unsocial, taciturn disposition, unwilling to speak, unless we expect to say something that will amaze the whole room, and be handled down to posterity with all the éclat of a proverb."
However, when she questions him about Wickham, he keeps silent—nor can she understand him, as she readily admits before their dance is finished. It is an artful irony of Jane Austen's that Miss Bingley immediately thereafter tells her that Wickham is entirely in the wrong, and Darcy in the right, in the breach between the two men. Elizabeth disbelieves her for two reasons: first, because she has correctly sized Miss Bingley up as an entirely unreliable source of information; and second, perhaps, because she wants to dislike Darcy in order to avoid any entanglement which will cost her her freedom. Nevertheless, she feels mortified when she realizes that Darcy is overhearing Mrs. Bennet boast that Jane and Bingley will soon be engaged.
In the second volume, the relationship of Darcy and Elizabeth is resumed in Kent, at Rosings and at Hunsford, the parsonage to which William Collins has taken his new wife. Everything is unpropitious, so far as Elizabeth herself is concerned: she has agreed to visit Charlotte only because of the memory of their close friendship—"all the comfort of intimacy was over." Mr. Collins is just as senseless as ever; Miss de Bourgh is "`sickly and cross.—Yes, she will do for him [Darcy] very well. She will make him a very proper wife'"; and Lady Catherine is quite as insufferable as Wickham has promised. Among all these displeasing people comes Darcy, who adds to her annoyance by looking confused when she asks whether he has seen Jane in London (for she suspects that he has warned Bingley off her); and, despite his calls at the parsonage and their "chance" encounters in Rosings Park, her prejudice against him increases, for she finds apparent corroboration of her suspicions in the conversation with Colonel Fitzwilliam, during which he recounts the fact that Darcy has told him of saving an intimate friend recently from a very imprudent marriage.
And so she is bowled over when Darcy tells her he loves her:
"In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."
But she is more than astonished: she is gradually angered by the tone and implication of his remarks:
His sense of her inferiority—of its being a degradation—of the family obstacles which judgment had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit.
So—and not, without recrimination for "`ruining, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a most beloved sister'" and for his ill-treatment of Wickham—she refuses and dismisses the proud Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.
But this is not the end; indeed it is only the beginning of Elizabeth's very gradually successful efforts to know herself thoroughly. The next day she is handed Darcy's justly famous letter, written in proud tones and offering some new light not only on the Jane-Bingley business but upon the supposed unfairness to Wickham's claims. As to the first, Darcy says he thought Jane seemed not much attracted to Bingley, whereas Bingley was strongly attached to Jane; and furthermore, Darcy acknowledges an objection to Miss Bennet's family—two considerations which led him both to conceal from Bingley the fact of Jane's presence in London and to persuade his friend that she did not feel much affection for him. As for Wickham, the young Meryton militiaman resigned all claim to a living, in return for which Darcy gave him £3000 to study law. Three years later, the incumbent of the living, the claim to which Wickham had resigned, died; and Wickham, having lived a dissipated and extravagant life in London, sought it. Darcy refused, and Wickham abused him violently; but, more than that, sought Georgiana Darcy out, and persuaded her to elope with him—though the plot was prevented.
Elizabeth reads the letter with great astonishment and—at first—with little comprehension. She is, however, even more completely stunned by the account of Wickham, and her first impression is to disbelieve Darcy on that score too. But then, in reflecting on Wickham's behaviour at Meryton (especially with regard to his sudden betrothal to the rich Miss King), she is inclined to think it very probable that Darcy is telling the truth after all.
She grew absolutely ashamed of herself.—Of neither Darcy nor Wickham could she think, without feeling that she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd.
"How despicably have I acted!" she cried.—"I, who have prided myself on my discernment!—I, who have valued myself on my abilities! who have often disdained the generous candour of my sister, and gratified my vanity, in useless or blameable distrust.—How humiliating is this discovery!—Yet, how just a humiliation!—Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind."
In this dramatic moment of self-revelation she has the honesty to see that there may be some justice in what Darcy has said about Jane, for "she felt that Jane's feelings, though fervent, were little display, and that there was a constant complacency in her air and manner, not often united with great sensibility." She has learned much from the letter, very much indeed; but Jane Austen is too perceptive a reader of character to suppose that all comes clear at once: it is by a marvellous irony that Elizabeth is made to reflect, "`Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind'"; nor, though Elizabeth does know herself henceforth much better, does she yet know herself completely.
It is even true that her attitude toward the letter is to undergo a further change—when she has had a better chance to think of it with some coolness. She almost completely reverses her first excited opinion:
His attachment excited gratitude, his general character respect; but she could not approve him; nor could she for a moment repent her refusal, or feel the slightest inclination ever to see him again. In her own past behaviour, there was a constant source of vexation and regret; and in the unhappy defects of her family a subject of yet heavier chagrin.
So, in a half-way stage in her thinking and feeling, she yet refuses to look squarely at the consequences of a commitment to Darcy; she still rebels against involvement. Nevertheless, her uncompromising honesty causes her to realize that there is much justice in his views about her family—all of them but Jane.
Elizabeth does not see Darcy again until the unexpected encounter at Pemberley, to which she has gone with the Gardiners on vacation. Presumably she has had an opportunity to absorb the lesson of the letter; at least she is now more willing to believe good things about him—from Mrs. Reynolds, for instance, who is the housekeeper of Pemberley and has only warm praise for her master, whom she has known since he was four years old—"`and he was always the sweetest-tempered, most generous-hearted, boy in the world.'"
Already softened towards Darcy by such unstinted praise, she meets him by chance (he has returned home a day early) and finds him more civil to her than ever before, unfailingly kind to the Gardiners, and urgently desirous to "`introduce my sister to your acquaintance.'" She likes Georgiana, and after the meeting takes occasion to reflect on her own not very clear feelings:
She certainly did not hate him. No; hatred had vanished long ago, and she had almost as long been ashamed of ever feeling a dislike against him that could be so called. The respect created by the conviction of his valuable qualities, though at first unwillingly admitted, had for some time ceased to be repugnant to her feelings; and it was now heightened into somewhat of a friendlier nature, by the testimony so highly in his favour, and bringing forward his disposition in so amiable a light, which yesterday had produced. But above all, above respect and esteem, there was a motive within her of good will which could not be overlooked. It was gratitude.—Gratitude, not merely for having once loved her, but for loving her still well enough, to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her manner in rejecting him, and all the unjust accusations accompanying her rejection.... She respected, she esteemed, she was grateful to him, she felt a real interest in his welfare; and she only wanted to know how far she wished that welfare to depend upon herself, and how far it would be for the happiness of both that she should employ the power, which her fancy told her she still possessed, of bringing on the renewal of his addresses.
It is in the anti-climax of the first paragraph quoted (respect, esteem—gratitude) that Jane Austen is able to indicate something of the complexity of Elizabeth's mind, and the entire passage shows the continued resistance which she is still putting up against the release of her own strong feelings.
A crisis is called for, something which will break the placidity of her reflections; and this comes in the stunning news that Lydia Bennet and George Wickham have eloped; in her anguish Elizabeth blurts the story out to Darcy, who is most consolatory and kind. Nevertheless, when she leaves Derbyshire—as now she must, hurriedly—she is certain she will never see him again. She feels genuine regret on departure: and her feelings have ascended to another level.
Now the focus of attention shifts from Darcy and Elizabeth to Lydia and the conscienceless militia officer—the search for them in London, the self-recriminations of Mr. Bennet, the marriage agreed upon. Elizabeth has little leisure to reflect on her own feelings for several weeks. Then she begins to regret telling Darcy about the elopement, for now that Lydia and Wickham are to be married, she feels that the first tawdry adventure might have been concealed from him, who would so strenuously disapprove—though no doubt he would not under any circumstances ally himself to a family connected in any way with the despicable Wickham.
She began now to comprehend that he [Darcy] was exactly the man, who, in disposition and talents, would most suit her. His understanding and temper, though unlike her own, would have answered all her wishes....
But now, she thinks, it is too late: such an alliance can never be—until she discovers that it has been Darcy who has been mainly instrumental in arranging the marriage between Lydia and Wickham, through motives which she must interpret in but one way: "Her heart did whisper, that he had done it for her." But she still cannot quite believe that he would ever consent to be the brother-in-law of Wickham, even for her. Nevertheless, she refuses—with keen disdain—to promise Lady Catherine de Bourgh not to accept a proposal of marriage from Darcy: an interview which, as Darcy says, "`taught me to hope ... as I had scarcely ever allowed myself to hope before.'" And so they are betrothed, at last.
But why has it been so much easier for her to like George Wickham? It is certainly true that, on their first meeting, he is much more polite than Darcy; his façade is much smoother, and his wit just as sharp. Elizabeth herself says, "`I have courted prepossession and ignorance....'" But there is a further reason, that she feels no danger of a permanent attachment to him; and for this second reason, she yields all too willingly to the belief that Darcy is what Wickham says he is.
She deceives herself: Mrs. Gardiner, who is much more perceptive in this matter than her niece, warns Elizabeth not to fall in love with the lieutenant. But Elizabeth promises only to go slowly. Nevertheless (and this, it seems to me, proves my second point) she feels not a single pang of regret when Wickham announces his engagement to Miss King, the girl with a dowry of £10,000. As she writes to her aunt,
"I am now convinced ... that I have never been much in love; for had I really experienced that pure and elevating passion, I should at present detest his very name, and wish him all manner of evil. But my feelings are not only cordial towards him; they are even impartial towards Miss King.... There can be no love in all this."
And she is right: so she can afford herself the luxury of deciding, before leaving for Kent, that Wickham "must always be her model of the amiable and pleasing"; she can (or so she thinks) indulge herself in the imperception of denying to Mrs. Gardiner that Wickham's attachment discloses his mercenary motives.
The profundity of her mortification at knowing the truth about him comes, then, not merely from the knowledge that her perceptions, on which she has prided herself, have been beclouded by prejudice, but from the deeper reason that her relationship to him, because it has not engaged her much, has been able to afford the luxury of quasi-intimacy. Against clarity, in Pride and Prejudice, involvement is set: both are desirable, but each, ironically, works against the other—and the reader cannot believe that the marriage of Darcy and Elizabeth, however happy or beneficial, will ever quite close the breach between these two opposites.
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